Storytime
by xXxrisenangelxXx
Summary: Storytime with Grandpa... guess who?


Storytime

"Things will always happen to someone. It's usually on occasion that the worst things, forever and always, will happen to the youngest and most innocent, boy," the aged man said. His pale blue eyes sparkled in anger.

"Why Grandpa?" a young boy asked, looking up at the old man. His bright blue eyes twinkled, the tell-tale sign that a story was coming made him excited.

"Cause, kid, it's always true," he said and didn't elaborate on it.

The boy blinked and opened his mouth in shock. "Is there no story?" he asked and his grandfather looked at him.

"Oh, there is," he answered and chuckled. "But it's much too scary for a kid."

"I am not a kid!" the boy yelled and stood up. "I can ask Grandma!"

"And Grandma won't know it all," he teased and ruffled the bright blond hair of his grandson. "Now come here."

He lifted the small boy up and onto his lap. "If I tell you this story, you have to hear it all out. You can't get scared half-way through. Promise?"

"Promise!" the boy exclaimed and smiled happily. There was always a good story and almost all the stories seemed to come out of history. It was fun to compare the stories to the history books at school. The stories were very accurate, even telling things that the history books liked about.

"Good. Comfy?" he asked and the boy nodded. "Tired?" The boy shook his head. "Good. Now do you remember the story about Gol and Maia, and how the hero found that Rift Gate?"

"Yeah! It's one of the good stories. Well, all of them are good, but that one was one of my favorites!"

"Good, now this story comes right after that one," the grandfather said and smiled; as if he were eager to tell this story to the boy sitting on his lap. "You see, after the hero and his friends got the Rift Gate all put together they were in for a big surprise…"

~*~

Putting the huge Rift Gate together had been an adventure in itself; trying to ignore Daxter and his pitiful attempts to direct Jak as he traveled through the Warp Gates. But it was worth it all. The Light Eco drifting off of the Rift Gate once it started up was worth all the trouble it really was.

Samos was yelling at Daxter and seemed to be drifting off into space on one of his wild tangents, at first berating the orange rat and then talking about how this all seemed so familiar. How the Precursors would finally show them how they themselves disappeared from the planet.

Jak didn't really care. The soft, fleeting touch of Light Eco was enough to make him ignore Samos and risk being hit over the head. Keira started to talk and Jak drifted his undivided attention to her. If he could talk, he would willingly let her know how he felt about her. But at that exact moment, he couldn't talk and he sure wouldn't be able to even get a word in with Daxter and Samos always going at each other.

Jak looked back at the Rift Gate and tilted his head slightly. The light seemed so familiar, as if he had seen it in some other life. Samos had talked about how elves were all a part of some type of other life, whether it is a plant or another elf. It was all apart of the Precursors work, it was all interconnected.

Jak then looked at the Rift Rider in front of him, the controls seemed daunting, but that weird familiarity hit him again, as if he had seen them before. Everything from before he was five was a mystery to him. The weird bright light and then there was the vague memories of his past life. He remembered the sweet sing-song voice of his mother and how she would sing him the Flut-Flut lullaby, even though it wasn't all that old and then his father was this odd warmth, as if he would always be protected, never having to know fear or hatred.

Jak shook his head and saw that everyone else had sat down. He sat down next to Keira and smiled shyly, she blushed and Daxter then popped in between them. Jak sighed and looked back at the controls. Daxter little orange fingers were pretending to push buttons and Samos snapped at him. Jak smirked and heard Samos say, "You know what to do Jak."

Jak furrowed his brow and looked at the controls. None of it made sense, but something about the heart shaped red gem seemed to draw his attention. He raised his hand as if to press it and he saw Samos look eager. He started to draw it back, but forced his hand onto it before he lost the urge to press it.

Something on the machine started to react to the start up and Jak looked around. He did something right for a change. The bright glow of the Light Eco diminished and suddenly it became dark, a sharp purple color came and it had a light pink tint to it. Jak recognized it and smelled the sharp scent of Dark Eco. How it tempted him to dive into the nearest lake of Dark Eco and to let the ecstasy of pain overload his senses and destroy his body completely.

Jak froze and suddenly the sky became dark, the sun setting all of sudden, then the green star, then the moon, and the sun again. Every thing seemed to age before his eyes.

Out of the Rift Gate Jak saw a huge monster of some kind come from it. Jak gulped and had an instant hard flash-back of his child-hood. Being tormented by that thing and not knowing where his father was at, or his mother.

"Finally! The last Rift Gate has been opened," a low gravelly voice said and the monster came out, roaring out to the sky. A current of bird like creatures flew out of the Gate and squealed loudly, deafening sounds.

"Do something Jak!" Keira yelled and looked at him. Daxter was pressing random buttons and avoided the heart shaped gem. Jak punched it and the Rift Rider surged forward, diving past the huge monster and then kept going.

"This could get bumpy everyone!" Samos yelled and everyone started to scream. Jak stared ahead and saw a huge bolt of Dark Eco surge at them. His eyes widened and the bolt hit the Rider, blowing it into pieces. They all flew out of it and Jak barreled forward, Daxter right next to him. "Find yourself Jak!" Samos yelled and then everything went white…

~*~

"Is that it?" the kid asked and looked up at his grandfather.

"No. That's not even the beginning," his grandfather said and his light blue eyes became sad. "Unfortunately, that's just the tiny beginning to a lot of pain for the hero."

"But why?"

"What did I say earlier? The worst things will forever and always happen to the most young and innocent. Our hero is very young and innocent, something terrible that no one should ever want put on someone will happen to him."

"But it did though, and he lived through it, cause some of your stories tell about the Dark Maker War!"

"Of course he did. What kind of hero would break just because of something like this?"

"Not a very good one," the boy said and crossed his arms.

The old man chuckled slightly and continued, "Anyways, things only got worse from there…."

~*~

Jak blinked as he regained consciousness. He looked around and saw a world of metal. He saw Daxter sitting next to him. A small slender bar in his hands and he seemed to be unhurt. Jak stood up and Daxter started to complain. Jak looked up and saw a huge building. He recognized it!

Suddenly the sound of hard boots on the metal came and a few screams came. Jak looked toward the sound of the boots and he backed away. That armor brought back an onslaught of bad memories, and suddenly an ache in his wrist came and he didn't know what from.

Everything moved fast suddenly, a man started to talk, something about how they had been waiting for him and then everything went black, and Daxter's voice as he ran off and then nothing.

When Jak woke up he was in a small room, everything was made of metal and there was barely room to walk. He could hear the sound of Blue Eco everywhere, how it crackled and sounded like grease on a frying pan. The live wire it gave him when he channeled it. It made everything so much better knowing that he was more than likely on the same planet and that meant that he would at least know what they were talking about, more or less.

Screams came to him and then he felt an odd sensation in his wrist, he felt like he had been here before. Everything about this place brought back pains to him that he didn't even know.

It felt like days to him before someone came and started to explain what was going on. He was confused and nothing made sense. They said they were going to be doing channeling tests and Jak's eyes lit up. No matter what Eco they gave him, he would be able to at least channel it. Everything but Dark. He wouldn't go near Dark Eco and if they put him near it, he would find someone to explain to them the dangers of it, of what happened to Gol and Maia. Those two were perfect example of what could and would happen to a person if they dabbled in Dark Eco. Not something that he exactly wanted.

Jak was dragged through a maze of halls, being brought into a room with a table. The whole way to the room he heard the groans of men and women; they all seemed to be in unconceivable pain. If they were all doing these channeling tests and they couldn't channel Eco then they would die. It was a sure way to kill a person. Find a single person who couldn't channel Eco and they would get sick just being near Eco.

Eco Poisoning, that's what everyone called it. Channelers had it easy; they could manipulate any kind of Eco to an extent. They usually were the heroes of the village they lived in, or in Jak's case the hero of their entire world. It was such an easy thing for him to do, always loving the feel of the Eco flowing through his body. It made him want to always be near the Eco.

Men strapped him down to the table in the room and hid behind a glass wall. He stared at them with a curious look and sighed. He felt the soft sensation of Green Eco coursing through his body suddenly and he closed his eyes. The pain in his wrist dulled slightly, but it was still there. But everything seemed to be just fine, there was no pain and he could even see the small green glow that Green Eco gave him. Then the exciting sizzling feel of Blue Eco coursed through him and he wanted to rip off the straps holding him down and bounce around the room, running along the walls and finding some way out the place. The power and exhilarating feel of Yellow Eco came to him and he clenched his hands into fists, the yellow glow coming to his hands and he flicked a small amount to the wall, causing a slight burn mark there. He smirked and then felt the strong eagerness of Red Eco course into his blood. He felt stronger and he felt like he could break through the bonds. It would make things so interesting.

He waited for the Light Eco, but none came and he understood. Light Eco was rare, and it was rare to have it on hand, but to be a Light Eco Sage would be one of the best things to be, that was for sure. To have that power at his hands at any moment and have it do his beck and call would make him a happy person.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain hit his hand, he looked and saw a small amount of Dark Eco. His hand cramped and twitched painfully. He could already see the burn marks that it would leave and then the scars that would add to his already hurting body. He convulsed and the Dark Eco dissipated.

Jak wanted to kill them for that. To actually use Dark Eco and not feel guilty.

"Well he didn't die from all the other Ecos and he only received a burn from the Dark Eco. I'm guessing that he will be the only person to actually make it in the DWP. Put him back in his cell and feed him…."

~*~

"Wait the DWP?" the boy asked and the old man sighed. He was used to interruptions, but this story was something that shouldn't be stopped, not when it was already started.

"Yes. I'm sure you read about in school," the grandfather said and sighed.

"But that used Dark Eco on people! It's bad. It's wrong!"

"And our hero knows that too. Now I have a new rule. You can only interrupt me when there is something that is confusing you. Does everything make sense right now to you?"

"Yes, it just took me by surprise is all," the boy said and bowed his head in shame. "Please continue."

"I intend to, but you can ask all the questions that you want when the story is done, kay?"

"Yes sir."

"Now, you know what they did in the Dark Warrior Project, but did you know that there was only a few that lasted for the full extent of it…?"

~*~

Everything went by in a blur. Jak didn't even know when a year had gone by. Everything was merged with a current of treatments, tests, punishments, hate and anger, tears that had to be hid carefully when everything was either dead silent or everyone was asleep.

The Dark Eco did something though, something that Jak would never have thought possible. In some weird twist of fate the Dark Eco did something to his voice. After being put into a glass box and have Dark Eco be poured onto him, something fixed itself. Jak had gagged at first, hearing a grunt that didn't make sense to him.

He had never been able to even make a grunt, he had always been silent. Never scream, not even a loud sob when he cried. This made it easy for him to cry so many times during the night and most of the day when everyone else was in the testing areas.

Then he got sick, throwing up for days and not being able to hold down anything that they did give him. He was put into an infirmary and fed through some type of tube, finally being given real food and then everything started to come together for him. His voice had become real. Never had he been able to talk and when he said something, it came out garbled and the nurse jumped.

"Shit! The Mute can talk!" she yelled and ran out the door. A line of doctors and of course Erol came and demanded that he start to talk. And when he tried, it nothing more than meeps and mews.

"If he actually is a Mute then he has never been able to talk. He won't know anything, won't be able to say anything unless someone teaches him," the doctors all said and Erol had growled. But it was perfect for him in a small way. He would be able to program Jak's mind with words that would come out of the perfect killing machine.

When Jak was put back into the cell with the rest of the prisoners they started to ask him questions, but the one that had always looked out for Jak forced them away and he slowly started to teach Jak how to talk. What words meant and how to pronounce them. "It's really easy when you get it down," he said and smiled at Jak.

"Welly, Nyx?" Jak asked and Nyx nodded.

"Just gotta practice those r's and you should be good to go," he said and pet back Jak's hair. "I just wish you didn't have to go through this."

"Jak, name Jak," Jak said and Nyx blinked.

"It's a good name," he said and sighed. "Name of legend. Better than Kid though." Jak smiled and Nyx grinned. "Nice smile, Jak."

Then everything started to change, things got worse. The prisoners that had lasted for what seemed forever started to die. Then the ones that survived became animal like, when food came, they snarled and fought each other for the last morsel. Then Erol started pitting them against each other, testing friendships. One man named Kane attacked Erol once and was shot down, killed instantly.

Things got weirder. Jak and Nyx were put into different cells. "High security" Erol had called it and Erol would come alone to the cells, drug them up and then Jak didn't remember anything. He felt nauseated though and he didn't understand what was going on. He felt like he had gotten a Dark Eco Treatment and couldn't walk and when he tried to get up, he couldn't, he'd fall down and have to get up all over again.

When Erol finally put them into a large "High security" cell, Jak and Nyx were subdued. Jak barely talked and he kind of regretted ever getting a voice, because he never used it. But then the harsh changes started to come, then he cried out in pain. At first it was just an extra set of teeth and they shrunk back into his gums easily, causing a little bit of pain, but nothing more than a few seconds.

Then came the claws, those stayed relatively short, and his eye-sight changed. Once the fangs had grown and the claws had come, his sight would become ten times better. He could see everything though it was dark and then he could see the dust particles that had cumulated in the cell.

The worst though, was the pair of horns that grew out of his skull. Two sharp points would sprout out of his hairline and continue to grow, either at a slow rate or an alarmingly fast rate. Either way, it was agonizing to even comprehend the pain.

It was the official two year mark, according to Erol, that Jak and Nyx finally snapped. They started to fight, the battle lasting for hours. Finally Jak got Nyx down and killed him…

~*~

"What?! He killed him?!" the boy screamed and his grandfather nodded mutely. "Why?!"

"The animal instincts that he had gained had taken control. Dark Eco creates a monster, whether your teachers realize it or not. What the DWP did was change a perfectly normal person, just like you and me, and morph him into the perfect biological weapon."

"But that's not logical!"

"Life isn't very logical, kid."

"This bad guy deserves to be put through the same thing!"

The grandfather smiled and his eyes glazed over. "Funny thing is, is that he was…"

~*~

Jak didn't know what was going on more than half the time that he was in prison. Once Nyx was gone he was lost. It was during this latest Dark Eco Treatment, as they called it, that he noticed that Praxis was there. After the treatment was finished Praxis yelled and screamed in his ear and then he felt a sharp pain in his left cheek. Blood steamed down his face and he almost passed out in the pain and numbness.

"This experiment is a complete failure!" Praxis screamed and looked at Erol. "Terminate this program immediately!" Erol agreed and then growled at Jak, promising to come back and put him out of his misery.

Jak was almost asleep when he heard the nasally voice of Daxter. He was sure it was an allusion, but he couldn't have been sure. Then there was a light amount of weight on his stomach and he opened his eyes, seeing a blurry picture of what seemed to be an orange rat. Jak blinked a few times and then fought to keep his consciousness.

"Well, isn't that just a great way to greet me, huh Jak?" Daxter asked and went on rambling about how he was risking his tail and then he stepped on Jak. Jak lurched up and panted. "Finally got your attention. Come on buddy, will ya talk to me?"

Jak clenched his eyes and opened them wide, "I'm gonna kill Praxis!"

"Woah, you can talk!" Daxter yelled and then put his paws over Jak's mouth to keep him quiet. "We gotta keep quiet though, who knows when those stupid guards will come around next. Just let me figure out the mechanics of this chair and then we'll get out of here, promise."

Jak panted and some fierce power inside of him built up. He felt the fangs grow into his mouth, the irony feel of the tough skin that he gained in the transformation build over him, his claws form and then his eye-sight grew. He arched his back and became free from the chains holding him down. Jak felt the horns sprout quickly through his skull and then turned to Daxter who was backing away from him.

"Jak? You okay buddy? I know ya recognize me," Daxter said and then whimpered when Jak didn't seem to comprehend anything that he was saying. "Please don't kill me!"

Jak looked at the huddling mass of orange fur and then he blinked. This was Daxter. Daxter wouldn't hurt him even if he had done something unforgiveable. "Daxter?" Jak quickly morphed back into his normal form.

"Yeah… Look, I may be handsome beyond compare, but that doesn't mean you have to kill me for it! Geez, what happened to you?! Let's get out of here before any guards show up, kay?" Daxter looked at Jak and saw the bleeding cut on his face. "Wow do you look a lot older."

Jak sighed and felt the familiar weight of Daxter on his shoulder. Even after all that time Daxter seemed to right in that spot, always there and always by his side, no matter what they went through. Jak hissed in a breath and Daxter kept rambling on, as if nothing had changed between them….

~*~

"Is that it?" the kid asked and his grandfather nodded. "But what happened next? How did they get out of the prison?!"

"I've told that story before, you just don't remember."

"But who's the hero! All the history books just call him the Savior of Haven! That isn't a name! I know that he has a name, what is it?!"

"Put it together," the grandfather said and turned his face to show a scar on his left cheek that looked like it never healed correctly.

The boy looked at it and then recognition hit him. He gasped and gently traced the scar. "You're the hero Grandpa Jak."

Jak nodded and smiled. "You figured it out a lot faster than your cousin."

"But how? You're so old!"

Jak chuckled. "I was once young, Marc. Just like Grandma, and your father."

"But that wasn't that long ago! All those wars happened like fifty years ago!"

"Haven is definitely a mystery."

The door opened. "How was he Dad?" a man asked and Jak smiled; a light twinkle in his eyes. The blue eyes was in every one of his descendents and he was happy about that. He felt like Mar.

"Finally realized the stories."

"Daddy! Grandpa Jak's the hero!" Marc yelled and jumped off of Jak's lap and ran to his father. He was picked up and held to the man's hip. "Where's Mommy? I gotta tell her!"

"We're gonna meet her in a little bit. Thanks for watching him again Dad."

"No problem, Blake."

"Where's Mom?"

"Shopping with your sister."

Blake chuckled and Jak shook his head. "Grandma wasn't even here?!"

"Nope."

"I didn't get to have any cookies!"

~*~

**bRisen Angel: Looky there! I thought that it would be nice to have another good Jak and Dax fic out and about, and since I can't really find any good ones on either fanfiction or dA, I'm gonna write one. I'm not gloating, but a lot of those fics suck. Anyways, review, cause you've already read. ^-^ /b**


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